How to Buy a Fly Fishing Reel

Your choice of a fly reel is another important part of a balanced fly fishing outfit. The fly fishing reel stores your backing, fly line and puts resistance on your line through its “drag” system when you are fighting a fish and it is pulling line off your reel. There are hundreds of reels to choose from so it is important to understand the basics before you purchase a fly reel.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

1. 
    

   The Reel (see no. 1 on the picture) is the outer part that attaches to the reel seat of your fly rod.

2. The spool is the center part attached to your reel (see No. 2 in the on the picture). The arbor is the spindle in the center of the spool where your backing is attached (backing is the extra line attached to your arbor and then your fly line). A spool should be able to hold at least 90-feet of line and 100-feet of backing. Most spools can be removed and an extra spool with a different line on it attached quickly.

3. Fly Reel Action refers to the way a reels retrieves (pulls in) different lengths of line with each complete turn of the spool.
   
   Single Action Reels - retrieve one revolution of line each time you turn the reel handle completely around. This is one of the most popular types of reels because the release (let go) line smoothly and do not have many moving parts to malfunction.
   
   Double Action Reels - Retrieve 2-3 times of line for each time you turn the reel handle completely around. Double action reels are good when you are fighting large fish that can pull out a lot of line.
   
   Automatic Action Reels - Automatic action reels are not as popular and retrieve and release line automatically and leave you less control when fighting a fish.

4. Fly Reel Drag refers to the amount of resistance put on your reel spool by your reels drag system. Spring and Pawl is a drag system that increases or decreases tension against a spring that applies pressure to a triangular shaped pawl against the reel spool. The Disk Drag system lets you increase or decrease tension to the line by turning a knob on the reel. This system works better for large fish.

5. Questions to ask when you are purchasing a fly reel:
   
   1. How much do I have to spend?
   2. What type of fish do I plan on catching?
   3. What material is the reel made from?
   4. How much backing and line will the reel spool hold?
   5. What type of action does the reel have?
   6. What type of drag system does the reel have?